Month: July 2016

Today, businesses have more choices than ever regarding how and where to promote or advertise products and services. To grow your business, you need marketing. Successful companies keep investing in marketing because they understand the importance of it. Many times companies can think of marketing as a “fixer” or “medicine” but marketing should be thought of as “necessity” or “food.” When companies are not selling enough the company then decides to invest in marketing or “medicine” to fix the situation but marketing should be something that happens at the beginning it should be thought of as the “food” need to make a business flourish. Having a sound marketing strategy is a great way to get your business off the ground by following these 4 tips.

Goals- What do you want your marketing plan to achieve? Establish both short term and long term objectives for your company. Make your goals meaningful, specific, and measurable. Concrete goals such as revenue and new customers will help you keep an eye on your goals at all times. If you have never looked up the idea of setting SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) then you should do it now.

Budget- In order to have a successful marketing strategy you must build a media plan and review the plan quarterly. Once you create the plan stick with the budget in order to succeed.The key is to never stop marketing, don’t concern yourself with the more costly tactics until you can afford them. Some good initial marking outlets for a low cost budget are online methods like Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Advertisements.

Know your competition- Know the competition you face for your business, it will help you to better your products and services to stand out amongst others. In order to fully understand your competitive advantages use the SWOT method. SWOT allows you to understand your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In case you did not know, SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. When writing a SWOT make sure to invite your entire team to be a part of the activity. Having an anonymous survey and then getting together to go over the results is a successful way to make a SWOT

Brand consistency- Consistent branding strengthens your identity and drives positive feelings about your product or service. Your brand should be reinforced through business cards, email marketing, website, logo, signage and print collateral. Consistent brands are worth up to 20% more than those that aren’t. When you think about the major successful companies, you know their brand. Brands such as McDonalds you automatically think about the Golden Arches, Apple you think about the image of the modern apple and Target you think of the color red. When establishing your brand make sure you choice colors, images and that the brand creates a feeling that adequately represents your brand.

Brand consistency is crucial to wide-spread brand recognition. The stronger your brand identity, the more likely you are to be at the front of your audiences’ minds. Every time someone interacts with your brand, they should get the same feeling about it every time. This gives your brand an identity and builds a connection with a customer. U.S. brands are losing approximately $41 billion each year due to poor customer service. 45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what it says and how it says it. These 4 helpful tips will help you with brand consistency.

Articulate your brand message- Your brand message should be directed toward your ideal customer. The main goal should be to direct your messaging toward your key audience, not everyone out there who is a consumer. Be sure that everyone within your organization is on board with your brand message. You cannot expect your potential customers to love and engage with your brand if your own employees do not.

Integrate your brand into all you do- Integrating your brand starts with the mission and vision and continues into every single piece of your business. The language you use to talk about your business, the design of your website, the logo, the vibe in the office all go back to your brand consistency. Every piece of your business should be in tune with your brand.

Create a brand look/feel- Your brand should have a look and feel across all of your marketing touchpoints that allows people to identify and build brand awareness when they engage with you. Whether it’s social media, TV, or print, the overall look and feel should be consistent across all channels. Many times you receive an email, packaging or mail piece and with just a glance you recognized who it was from. Many brands are identifiable with just their logo.

Develop a great logo- Keep your logo consistent and make it viewable everywhere. In order to create a great logo, simplicity is the key. You want a consumer to take a first look at a logo recognize it and remember it. The six characteristics that make up a great logo are simple, distinct, scalable, original, clean and clear, and it has to be memorable and leave an impact on your audience